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Scanning electron microscope (SEM) FEI Inspect F50
Instrument
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a powerful imaging technique to study the morphology (shape, size, particle arrangement, etc.), surface topology (relief, texture, etc.), and chemical composition (relative ratios of chemical elements from carbon to uranium) of a sample. The SEM uses a focused beam of high-energy electrons to generate a variety of signals at the surface of solid specimens revealing information about the sample. SEM is used to analyze a multitude of samples of all shapes, compositions and sizes for samples stable under high-vacuum conditions. SEM is a non-destructive analytical method for electrically conductive material. The study of insulting materials, on the other hand, requires extra step for sample preparation including the deposition of thin conductive layer (carbon or palladium alloy).
FEI Inspect F50
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Sample preparation
Sample preparation is usually minimal but depending on the nature of the samples and the data required, extra preparation steps can be required.
1. Solids
- mirror polished surface.
2. Thin blades
- minimum thickness of 30 microns
- polished sections: maximum diameter (D) of 2.5 cm and maximum height (H) of 3 cm
3. Powders
- encapsulated in a polished section: maximum diameter (D) of 2.5 cm and maximum height (H) of 3 cm
4. Non-conductive samples
- Metallization: deposition of a layer of Au-Pd, Pt-Pd for high resolution electron imaging
5. Elemental chemical composition analyses (EDS and WDS)
- carbon layer deposition
- energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) for multi-element analysis
- wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS) for element-by-element analysis
For all other sample types, please contact our instrument manager for further information.